Last week's odd news: Maserati patrol car raises suspicions – Des Moines Register
BRAINTREE, Mass. – Police patrol cars are usually Fords or Chryslers, not Maseratis.
So when a patrolman in Braintree, Massachusetts, recently spotted a Maserati resembling a police cruiser, he pulled it over.
Deputy Chief Wayne Foster told The Patriot Ledger the luxury Italian vehicle’s body was painted black and white with a police-style shield on the doors, and police-related decals.
Foster said the door shield wasn’t accompanied by the usual police phrase “Protect and Serve,” but rather with “Decepticons punish and enslave.”
The driver told the officer who pulled him over that he was actually assisting police “because other drivers noticed him and slowed down, thinking it was a police vehicle.”
The driver, whose name was not made public, was summoned to court to face a charge of impersonating a police officer.
Woman allegedly stole wine to see jailed boyfriend
CEDAR PARK, Texas – A Texas woman allegedly stole a bottle of $3.99 wine to get arrested and see her jailed boyfriend.
Alicia Walicke of Cedar Park was charged with misdemeanor theft and freed on $5,000 bond Aug. 15. Williamson County jail records did not list an attorney for the woman.
Police say Walicke stole a bottle of wine from a gas station Wednesday. An arrest affidavit says police found the woman outside the business and drinking the wine. The affidavit says she told police that she wanted to see her boyfriend, who was arrested hours earlier, and told them she wanted to go to jail.
Police in Cedar Park, 15 miles northwest of Austin, didn’t immediately identify the boyfriend or say whether the woman saw him.
Person drops off about 100 tuxedo cats at shelter
NOVATO, Calif. – The San Francisco Chronicle reported that someone has dropped off more than 100 tuxedo cats, which are named for their distinctive black and white markings, at an animal shelter.
Marin Humane Society spokeswoman Lisa Bloch says that on Aug. 11, a car pulled up to the Marin Humane Society in Novato, leaving behind three boxes.
Bloch tells the newspaper that inside were 24 tuxedo cats. She says it was the fourth such occurrence in the last 18 months.
The newspaper reports that all the cats, which range in age from kitten to full-grown, appeared to be in good health, with no fleas or diseases.
The person who’s responsible for leaving the cats has been caught on surveillance tape — and Bloch tells the newspaper that it appears to be the same person every time. The shelter wants to offer the person information about getting pets fixed.
UK councils field weird queries on dragons, ghosts
LONDON – Is your town safe from dragon attack? Inquiring minds want to know.
A list of the top 10 strangest questions posed by Freedom of Information Act petitioners was published Aug. 16 by England’s Local Government Association.
The group, which represents more than 350 councils, asked the public not to burden its staff with questions deemed “vexatious,” a.k.a. ridiculous.
Rossendale Council was asked to detail its employment of exorcists and faith healers. Worthing Council was asked to explain its emergency plans for meteor strikes and solar flares. Birmingham was asked to reveal how many requests it’s had to screen public buildings for ghosts.
And there be dragons in northwest England, apparently. One fact-seeker asked Wigan Council: “What plans are in place to protect the town from a dragon attack?”
Los Angeles looks into making ballot bankable
LOS ANGELES – The city is considering turning voting ballots into lottery tickets.
With fewer than a fourth of voters showing up for recent local elections, the city’s Ethics Commission voted Aug. 14 to recommend that the City Council consider a cash-prize drawing as an incentive to vote.
Commission President Nathan Hochman said a pilot program should be used first to find out the number and size of prizes that would bump up turnout.
“Maybe it’s $25,000 maybe it’s $50,000,” Hochman said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “That’s where the pilot program comes in.”
The vote was unanimous. The issue now moves to the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee headed by City Council President Herb Wesson, who said he’s intrigued by the idea but wants to hear what neighborhood councils and “legal beagles” think.
“I can’t wait to have this conversation,” he said, but added that he didn’t want to be the “poster child” for the proposal.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether there was any precedent in other cities or states for such a move, which brings with it questions of propriety and legality.
Busy mom has baby while registering son at school
PASADENA, Texas – A mother in the advanced stages of labor thought she had just enough time to stop off and register her 4-year-old son at a Houston-area school en route to the hospital. But she was mistaken.
A school nurse and police officer helped Vanessa DeLeon deliver her baby Aug. 14 at the campus clinic of Fisher Elementary School in Pasadena. The boy, named Geovanni, weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces.
DeLeon says her contractions began earlier that day but that she was intent on registering her son Alexis for prekindergarten at Fisher before giving birth to her fourth child.
The mother and her newborn were doing well when they were later transferred to Bayshore Medical Center.
And she successfully registered Alexis for pre-K at Fisher.
Bank robber wears many hats
MINEOLA, N.Y. – Police in New York are on the hunt for a prolific bank robber who wears many hats.
Police say the man donned a range of wacky headpieces as he committed eight bank robberies in Nassau County over the course of 2½ months ending July 23.
One of the banks was robbed twice.
Surveillance photos show the robber wearing a floppy white hat at one bank. At another, he accessorized with a baseball hat that had a picture of President Barack Obama on it.
And at another, he decided on a hat with a long wig attached.
Police believe it’s the same robber in all the photos.
They say the stickup artist typically gives tellers a note threatening violence and demanding cash.
Utah nude sunbather to fight lewdness charges
FARMINGTON, Utah – A 76-year-old man who police say was sunbathing nude in his backyard next to a church parking lot in Utah has pleaded not guilty to lewdness charges.
The Standard-Examiner of Ogden reported that Myron Lee Kipp was in a Farmington, Utah, court Aug. 12 to plead not guilty to four counts of lewdness involving a child and three counts of lewdness.
Court documents show a police officer called to Kipp’s house by neighbors on March 5 could see the man from the church parking lot. The backyard fence is chain link with no privacy slats.
When confronted, a completely nude Kipp told the officer it was his property and he could do what he wanted.
Several parents said they and their children could see the man from the parking lot.
Elderly woman boards plane with stash of cash in undies, bag
ROMULUS, Michigan – A 78-year-old Florida woman tried to fly on an international trip to the Philippines from Detroit Metropolitan Airport with almost $41,000 in cash hidden inside her girdle, bra and carry-on bag, federal authorities said.
A complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Detroit said the Clearwater woman was trying to board a flight April 2 to the Philippines with her daughter. She initially said she had $200 in cash but submitted a form declaring she had $1,200, prompting questions.
During a search, Customs and Border Protection officers found $8,000 in wallets in her carry-on bag, $4,000 sewn into a cloth pouch and nearly $1,000 in envelopes, according to the complaint. She then told them she had $3,000 in her blouse and $2,000 sewn into the strap of her bra.
Officers continued to search and said they found about $21,000 in her girdle. The woman told authorities that she had recently sold her home for $120,000, wired some money to the Philippines and had planned to carry a portion of the money with her.
“She stated that she did not wire the proceeds to the Philippines this time because she thought it was safer to carry the money,” according to the complaint.
Federal law requires travelers to declare if they are carrying more than $10,000. The woman hasn’t been charged, but the government in the forfeiture complaint said it wants to keep the money. The Detroit News reported details of the request Aug. 8.
Nude man tries to rob bank in Illinois
ROCKFORD, Ill. – Rockford police have arrested a 32-year-old man they say tried to rob a bank while naked.
The Rockford Register Star reported that Ezekial Deanda approached a personal banker on Aug. 15 “while completely disrobed.” They say he then demanded money.
Police say Deanda fled the lobby ith an unspecified amount of cash. He was later found in the bank’s basement restroom, where he was getting dressed.
Deanda is charged with robbery, resisting a police officer and aggravated battery of a police officer.
Massachusetts to use humor on highway signs
BOSTON – The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has announced the winners of a contest to come up with humorous yet valuable safety messages for electronic highway message boards.
The contest was inspired by a message posted on highways in May that encouraged drivers to “Use Yah Blinkah” — or turn signal — when changing lanes.
The winners announced Aug. 14 were “Make yah Ma proud, wear yah seatbelt,” to encourage belt use; “Keep Calm and Drive On,” to prevent road rage; and “Put down the phone! Your LOLs and OMGs can wait,” to fight distracted driving.
The winners get gift cards from gas stations and restaurants.
